This Sunday, Milei presented the 2025 budget, where he announced that the entire economic plan for next year will be based on achieving a zero deficit, as required by the IMF. Faced with the dangers of a new default, the president announced a fiscal shield in the midst of an economic crisis. A brutal cut in public spending on pensions, universities, social benefits and public works. This time, Milei offered the financing of public education as carrion meat to guarantee payment to the IMF vultures.
Article 27 of the 2025 Budget Bill indicates the suspension of compliance with Article 9 of Law No. 26,206 on National Education. This item stipulates a minimum funding floor for education, set at 6% of GDP. A basic assumption, or basic minimum, in the face of the deep crisis that the educational system in Argentina is going through.
In the same vein, the Budget presented suspends Articles 5, 6 and 7 of Law No. 27,614 on Financing of the National Science, Technology and Innovation System, which stipulates a minimum financing level of 0.39% of GDP for 2024 and ensures, on the one hand, that the resources of the national budget for science and technology can never be less, in absolute terms, than those of the budget of the previous year; and on the other hand, that this allocation must continue to grow until reaching a financing equal to 1% of GDP by 2032.
Furthermore, the 2025 Budget project suspends article 52 of Law No. 26,058 on Technical Professional Education, eliminating the obligation to comply with the financing floor of 0.2% of the total current income provided for in the Consolidated Annual Budget for the National Public Sector.
In her speech, Milei made it clear that education is not of interest to her: “The fundamental thing that a National State has to do is to ensure macroeconomic stability, foreign relations and the rule of law. Period.” “Any other issue can be resolved through the market or is the responsibility of subnational governments.” The great social needs and the development of the country through education and science are outside.
An advance against public education at the request of the IMF
This serious attack on the education system is based on years of underfunding. According to a study by the Argentinos por la Educación observatory, from 2006, when the Education Financing Law was passed, until 2020 (the last year with statistics), the goal of investing 6% of GDP was met in only three years: 2009, 2013 and 2015.
Now Milei is advancing a serious attack by directly ignoring compliance with the Law that stipulates a minimum level of financing for education. Thus, the items stipulated for Education and Culture imply $6.6 billion, 0.87% of GDP and Science, Technology and Innovation $1.7 billion, 0.22% of GDP, while Public Debt Services imply more than $10 billion, 1.31% of GDP.
National Universities, for their part, will have a budget of 3.8 billion, and if the law is approved, the Ministry of Human Capital will impose audits, which, if not complied with, may interrupt transfers to universities.
Taking to the streets against the educational attack and adjustment
The lack of investment in education is a sad reality: destroyed schools, overcrowded classrooms, inadequate and unnutritious school food services, insufficient scholarships, lack of teaching materials and books, insufficient staff and interdisciplinary teams that are vital in schools. Poverty wages and job insecurity complete a picture that thousands of teachers and students throughout the country have been denouncing.
On April 23, the university community demonstrated its ability to bring people out into the streets in large numbers in the great University March. If this sensitivity is combined with the social sensitivity and willingness to fight shown by retirees and the firepower of aeronautical workers, for example, the government’s plans are in trouble.
Milei spoke in a half-empty Congress with a very low television audience. He showed that he is joining forces with the worst of the caste to steal from retirees. Faced with a brutal budget cut, with recipes that have already failed, it must be confronted with the broadest mobilization in the streets, to overthrow the agreement with the IMF.
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
